Boundaries
by M.animaniac
Summary: Thanks to Maydrei! Mainly SasuSaku. There had always been boundaries between the pink-haired medic and the dark, brooding avenger. Can an irreversible jutsu forcing them to stay no more than a few feet apart break them?
1. Chapter 1

Boundaries

**Boundaries**

**Summary:**

After successfully retrieving Sasuke after his battle with Itachi, the now grown-up rookie nine is ambushed by a group of Orochimaru's followers- Sound Nin.

Sasuke and Sakura end up being caught in a rare jutsu that creates an invisible barrier around them, and are stuck together until the jutsu can be reversed.

Will the boundaries be enough to soften these two hardheads enough to make them realize their true feelings? 

Or will they be too much to bare the consequence?

_Sas__uSaku – NaruHinaKiba_

_**&**_

**Author****'s Note:** The idea for this story is from Maydrei. YES. I did ask for permission, and YES, permission was granted. Of course, this is completely different XD

So, if you have time check out her version as well! If you aren't up to date with the anime AND manga, then this might spoil important parts of the story for you.

Also, putting up this story doesn't mean I will cease to update "Miss Trouble Magnet", this is just a simple side project, so don't expect too much, lass.

Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Bwehehehe…. No. I don't. Sigh.

**&**

**Chapter 1: **

The jutsu that started everything

Our large group rushed through the thick forest branches, jumping from one to another. "Hinata-san, which way is it?" Kakashi asked the raven haired Hyuuga heiress following behind him. 

She blinked a few times, processing what he said, and then closed her eyes. She furrowed her brows slightly in concentration, and when they shot wide open again, veins were pulsing all around them, daring to pierce through the pale surface. Our group stopped and waited for an answer. Hinata's hands, which were previously formed in a seal, dropped limply to her sides. She looked down to her feet, gulped, and mustered up her courage. 

"Exactly five minutes South West from our current position." She mumbled quietly.

Kakashi nodded his head, and the group dashed in the designated direction. As they launched themselves from branch to branch at maximum speed, Kiba noticed Hinata lagging quietly behind, and quickly slowed down to her side. "Hinata-chan, we have to catch-up, don't want to get left behind do you?" He asked, grinning. Akamaru barked.

Hinata burst into tears and had to hold onto Kiba's arm to keep from tripping and completely falling over. Kiba flinched and stared at her in confusion, but didn't say another word.

Naruto, obviously, led the group far out front. It wasn't that he was the leader; it was simply because no one could keep up to his pace in his rage. Kakashi and I were following him as closely as possible, behind us were Shino, Shikamaru Ino and Chouji, and then Neji, Tenten and Lee, and in the far back were Hinata and Kiba, trying to keep up. Sai had also tagged along, and monitored the right, while Yamato monitored the left.

Our group came to a halt when we found a clearing, and before us was a mountain of rumble. Naruto stood in front, as always, still as a rock. I walked up to his side, placing a few strands of hair behind my ear, and grabbed his arm. He looked down at me, and his cloudy and dark expression softened a bit. Kakashi dashed forward, "There's no doubt in my mind that Sasuke may be hidden somewhere in or near all this rubble, split up in teams and search. If you find _anything_, alert us in anyway you know how." He declared to everyone.

It might have more had more of an effect if his uniform wasn't ripped and torn everywhere and blood stains splotches were scattered here and there, but everyone was in such a condition, probably worse. The silver haired juunin paused. "Don't take this task lightly; this may be our last chance to get him back." He finally said.

Everyone gave a stiff nodded and started their search, Kakashi was teamed with me and the tearful Hinata while Naruto was with Yamato and Sai. The other teams were scattered and were already searching frantically, so desperately wanting to find the man who'd caused so much trouble.

Hinata quietly sobbed in the background as she followed Kakashi and me, her hands cupping her mouth to keep us from hearing. Kakashi had already known, but it took a minute or two for me to realize, and as soon as I turned around to look a Hinata, the girl sucked in her breath to try and stop. "Hinata-chan…" I started, walking up to her, "I know you're really low on chakra right now, but could you please… _please_ use you're Byakugan one last time?"

Hinata sniffed, and wiped her tears with her sleeves. From her expression I had a feeling she felt that deep down I was beginning to get irritated with her crying, which I wasn't really. I thought I had been patient enough, waiting for the right time to ask for her to try helping us. No matter how I said it, it would sound negative. "O-Of course." She said, still whimpering slightly. She was about to close her eyes, but stopped, as though she still remembered the place where she'd seen him, and pointed in that direction.

The group dashed off, signalling the other searchers to follow, and stopped right at the edge of a steep hill. At the bottom, Neji, Tenten and Lee were standing around what looked like two limp bodies. Before Kakashi, Hinata and I could take one step down the hill, Naruto had dashed past us, pushing through the three other Nin to see for himself.

Itachi and Sasuke bodies lay there on the ground, covered with blood and sweat. I could hear Hinata's sobs again behind me, but I ignored them and slowly approached the two. I kneeled down, glancing at Naruto, whose fangs were beginning to protrude from his mouth, and then back again at the bodies who I knew definitely belonged to the two Uchiha brothers.

Slowly, I reached to touch Itachi's face; it was stone cold. I tried to check for a pulse, and after a few tries, I announced, "He's dead." Even though the lump in my through had shrunk a bit, the air felt thick and tense. I forced myself, through my own sobs, to reach towards the boy I had once loved, not even bothering to feel the temperature of his skin as I found his neck. Everyone waited and watched as I tried and tried and tried again to find a pulse.

I could feel Naruto's anxiety rising by the second, and his steaming hot chakra wasn't going to help. I gave him a firm stare, and he seemed to be trying to contain himself. Suddenly, I felt something move under my outstretched finger. "Sasuke…" I mumbled, jerking her head back to him. Urgently, I bent over him and put my head against his cold chest, hearing something faint, becoming louder, and louder.

I felt a smile break onto my face. "He's alive." I said, finding it hard, myself, to believe it. Suddenly, there was a shattering of tension, and even a joyful laugh fluttered in the crowd, growing more and more contagious. I felt the giggles rising up my throat as well, but managed to contain them just barely. I realized I was still lying with my head on Sasuke, and quickly sat up. When my heart ceased to flutter, I turned to Kakashi. He was smiling- a grateful, serene smile- that made me feel warm inside.

Yamato slowly approached me, looking down at me with a bright expression. "Alright, we need to tie him down, so that you and Ino can heal his major wounds." He said, and he preformed the proper hand seals. Wood appeared out of the tip of his outstretched fingers and wrapped tightly around Sasuke's body.

When the jutsu was done, Ino and I began to heal him. I was taking on the more challenging wounds while the less experienced Ino did whatever she could. In a few minutes, he looked renewed, and we slipped him a pill to make him sleep as long as possible. "I'll deal with him," Yamato said, glancing at Itachi, and then at Kakashi, "You guys can go ahead."

Kakashi nodded his head and our group was off, not even taking a moment to rest with such an important person in our hands. We weren't as far as Konoha as we had once though, in a few hours we would be back home, and fast asleep. Naruto and I no longer led the group with Kakashi. We were centered in the middle; our duty was to protect our unconscious prize.

Kakashi, now leading, turned his head to address everyone. "Keep a sharp eye on all surroundings." He then turned to Naruto and I, "Naruto, Sakura, you know what to do if he wakes up."

We nodded. Did we?

Once Kakashi smiled and turned his head, I sighed. "Naruto-kun," I said, "We're almost home."

Naruto studied my smile before quickly nodding his head. He opened his mouth and was about to speak, and was interrupted. An explosion was heard, followed by a number of thunderous crunching noises that made all heads jerk to the side. "What the f-" Naruto yelled, but was interrupted once more, this time by a giant flying tree- which, by the way, he barely dodged.

Neji managed to reflect it with his spiny thing, yet more debris seemed to fly their way. I looked around, looking for Naruto; I wouldn't be able to ferry a dangerous Uchiha by myself. With all the confusion and noise, it took me a few seconds to notice the stirring body hanging on my arm. I froze.

"Oh shit."

I stared at Sasuke, who grumbled something unintelligible and tried to move his hand around under the tight wood bindings him. I had stuck my arm through one of the hoops so that I could hold him properly without Naruto around and jumped towards Kakashi, who I could barely see in the distance. The flying debris had caused up to spread out, and the nearest person to me was Akamaru, who was trying to stick to Kiba.

"_Stop_."

The cold voice sent a shrill down my spine, and nearly made me slip when I tried to land on a branch. I stared down at Sasuke, whose sharingan was activated. Before I could stop him, he yanked one of his arms forward, completely breaking through the wood. I had already grabbed his arm, and with my unmatched strength, it would be impossible for him to escape with amputating his own arm.

He growled at me, once again frightening me, but I didn't let go of him, "Sakura, you don't know who you're dealing with, let me go and no one gets hurt. I don't want any business with you and your little friends and it would be to my advantage if you stayed alive." He said venomously.

_Where was Kakashi?!_

I glared at him, trying to beat his icy stare. "No matter what, someone always gets hurt, Sasuke." The fact that we weren't even using THINGS meant we were too serious to bother with politeness, at the moment we couldn't have cared less. "You just don't notice because you're too absorbed with yourself." I hissed. I was starting to get pissed, and was secretly storing up chakra in my other palm. 

I could have really used some help, and glanced around. No one seemed to notice what I thought was a major change in events. I then noticed that sound Nin were fighting with the leaf Ninja; and hell, they didn't look like rookies. Still, they were better off than me.

I quickly glanced back to Sasuke, who had probably expected this to happen. He narrowed his eyes, "I warned you." He said. The hand attached to the arm I was holding wrapped itself around my wrist, and he grabbed my arm with his other hand. Within the space frame of a second, he pulled me upwards, twisted slightly to the side and aimed me towards the ground.

I pulled my other hand from my weapons pocket, and thrust it, now shiny a sky blue, at Sasuke, successfully numbing the nerves in both arms. Still, I landed with a thud on my back, and was vulnerable to any sort of attack not involving his limp hands. Without hands to use, he couldn't even attempt a jutsu, let alone think about one that would help him detached my arm from him.

Suddenly, I heard someone yell Sasuke's name. For a split second, he was distracted, and I yanked him down, so that he fell flat on the branch. As soon as he tried to get up, which was rather soon, I tried to numb his leg, but he avoided it. I was surprised, to say the least, that he had such a range of movement, even through we were technically attached through my hand, and even when he could only use his legs to do move.

Finally, I could see Kakashi and Naruto bursting out of the dusty air, bleeding once more. I didn't think I had enough chakra to do anything much, so I hoped no one was badly hurt. "Sasuke!!" Naruto yelled, blinded by his ever present rage.

"Stop Naruto!!" I yelled. He didn't even seem to notice me, or else he was just trying to ignore me. Kakashi immediately realized what I'd been talking about. Not only had Sasuke kicked the back of his sheath, making his sword fall out, had grabbed it with his teeth, right before it fell past his feet, and was about to swing the sword at me, but there was a strange blue light heading straight towards us. Of course I had no idea what to do, either jump towards Sasuke, get impaled, and save him -OR- Jump backwards, risk getting him caught in the approaching- and intimidating- beam and save myself.

I turned my head and my vision became blurred in orange and black. Naruto smashed into us and we both fell down to the ground. As I fell, I saw the blue beam swipe over us, and disappear. Kakashi caught me, and Sasuke hit the ground, though I still held him. I felt my grip wasn't as strong, and my hand was getting tired, yet Kakashi muttered, "That's one iron grip you have, Sakura-chan…"

I blushed, realizing how Kakashi was carrying me, but he either didn't notice or was enjoying this. I realized it was the latter, and felt like I could punch him senseless. Suddenly, though, I felt Sasuke slip through my grasp and jumped up to his feet, dashing at Naruto. Kakashi immediately let me go and followed the raven haired boy, who had just swung at Naruto. Blood splattered everywhere, and I closed my eyes to keep from witnessing the scene. When I opened them, Kakashi was holding down a struggling Uchiha and Naruto was pulling out Sasuke's Katana from his shoulder, making the blood spray everywhere.

I ran towards Naruto, quickly trying to heal his wound with any ounce of Chakra I could muster. "Sakura-chan," He said, "You look really exhausted."

I shook my head. "I have to heal this before you get some sort of infection, Naruto-kun." I quickly said. 

He grabbed my hand and pulled it away. "Sakura-chan, I'll be fine. I have… I have the Kyuubi, remember?" He asked me.

I blinked a few times, processing this, and then said, "Oh…. Oh, yeah." Already, his wound was closing up. I exhaled loudly, and wiped the sweat off of my forehead. The lack of chakra and energy was getting to me; I could eat anything, even some ramen- which I wasn't really a fan of.

"Okay, he's good." Kakashi said, smiling at us. We looked at Sasuke, and saw him lying, conscious, on the ground.

"What'd you do?" Naruto asked, staring at the stiff boy with narrowed eyes.

He chuckled. "Don't worry about it," He said, and winked at us. We both glared.

I walked towards Sasuke anyway, while Naruto tried his best to clean the blood splattered all over him. Sasuke glared back at me vehemently, looking like he was regretting something. Probably regretting the fact that his jaw wasn't that good at wielding a sword, and he might have been able to pierce Naruto's heart and kill him if he had aimed right. He looked like he was glued to the ground by some unknown force, and didn't look happy about it at all.

I sent him a fake smile, and he only grew more furious. Suddenly, I change my expression, matching his furious one, and I punched him straight in the gut. His eyes opened so wide they looked like they would pop out, but his inability to move forced him to stay put, and all he could do was grimace in pain.

"Whoa- Sakura-chan, we don't win anything if we kill him!" Naruto said, scratching the back of his head.

I ignored him and lowered myself so that Sasuke's face was inches away from mine. "Don't you _ever_ do that again." I said.

He just glared at me, still wincing from the pain in his stomach, and was breathing heavily.

"You know what I frickin' mean, so stop acting so clueless." I hissed.

The look on his face just taunted me, "_Hit me_." It seemed to say. I wished I could, but Kakashi pulled me back, giving me a stern look. I looked down and my feet angrily. "Yo", Naruto suddenly said, "Shouldn't everyone be back now?" He asked, looking around.

As if on cue, Kiba appeared with Hinata by his side, her arm over his shoulder, and his hand on her waist. "Hina-chan twisted her ankle." He explained, making Hinata blush at the nickname and Akamaru bark. Naruto and I walked up to them. "Whoa." He suddenly said.

"What…?" I asked.

He chuckled. "You guys are covered in blood, did someone die?" He asked casually.

Naruto scoffed. "No, that bastard over there had the guts to stab me." He said, now scowling disapprovingly as Sasuke like a mother did to a child.

Sasuke didn't see this but I could sense his anger from where I stood. After filling them in on what had happened on our area of the battle field, Kiba mentioned the most peculiar thing. "Hmm… You saw that blue light too, right?" He asked.

I nodded my head. "Yeah… do you have any idea what it was?" I asked.

"Nah. I don't see why you're asking me though, I mean if you don't know, then what are the chances that I do?" He joked, lifting his shoulders and eyebrows in unison. Hinata and I couldn't help but giggle. He grinned back at us, and for a second I thought I saw something flash behind him.

I turned to Naruto, "Did you see that?" I asked.

He frowned, "See what?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Nevermind." I said. I walked towards Sasuke, feeling a little bad for getting angry earlier, and began checking his stomach for any wounds. Meanwhile, Kakashi walked towards Kiba, Naruto and Hinata, and chatted with them while we waited for everyone to regroup.

I noticed Sasuke staring me as I checked him. He had some internal bleeding -Oops- and I quickly fixed that. That must've hurt like hell. "Sakura." He said, rather loudly. I turned to him, but he looked like he wasn't going to say anything else, as though whatever he was going to say didn't matter anymore.

"Sakura-chan!!" Hinata screeched, and the next moment, I was out cold.

**DARKNESS**


	2. Chapter 2

Boundaries

**Boundaries**

**Author's Note:** Okay, I know I haven't updated "Miss Trouble Magnet" in like… a month. But for some _odd_ and _unidentified_ reason, I have decided to write a second chapter for you.

Yippy.

**Disclaimer:** Bwehehehe…. No. I don't. Sigh.

**Chapter 2:**

**A C T I O N S**/_A RE_/_**S O M E T I M E S**_/

**F O L L O W E D**/_B Y_/_**C O N S E Q U E N C E S**_

I groaned and rubbed my head in agony.

There was _nothing_ worse than throbbing forehead.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled loudly in my face, his fowl breath smelling of ramen and blood.

I take that back.

I lifted my hand to find his face too fast, and ended up smacking him in the head instead. I opened my eyes to see him whimpering in pain beside me, his hands cupping his face. To my right, Kakashi was watching me intently, kneeling in _too _close and blinking a few times before I decided smack him in the head as well. "That was totally unfair!" He said, frowning, I guessed, at me childishly.

I rolled my eyes, laughing, and saw legs out stretched on the ground behind Kakashi. "Oh, That," Naruto said, catching the direction of my gaze, "Is just the bastard."

I kneeled forward and turned my head to see him staring at me behind Kakashi's back and was instantly startled. "He's not tied up! Why?!" I said loudly, louder than I had originally anticipated.

"Well, you see," a quiet voice, Hinata's, started. I hadn't even noticed her standing in front of me until she spoke, not to mention the many other faces around her. Apparently, everyone had gathered up during my nap, which didn't seem to have been that long. I mean, they would have just picked me up and kept going if I had been out for long.

"You know that blue beam, or light, o-or whatever it was…" She continued, sitting down so I wouldn't have to stretch just to hear her. "It… It hit Sasuke, and… Well, you don't r-remember?" She asked.

I tried so very hard to remember any sort of thing, but all that I could think of was shutting my eyes tight from a bright light, and then waking up with the sound of pounding drums in my head. I look up to her from my feet and shook my head.

"Well," Naruto said, "I don't know _what_ possessed you Sakura-chan, but you 'saw' the light, or beam, or the… well- the _thingie_! And you just jumped onto Sasuke!" He said, saying it with such animation in his actions and voice.

"_What?!_" I said, suddenly feeling self-conscious for doing something so embarrassing. God, imagine what it must have looked like to someone else…. Like Naruto. He'd been having many a dose too high of Jiraiya. I hugged myself instinctively and heard Sasuke shift a bit.

"Yeah, that's right. And then the _thingie_ hit both of you and well… you both fainted." He concluded, grinning as though he'd told the story of a lifetime.

My efforts to hide my blush completely failed, as everyone was staring at me with sly expressions, and I glared at Naruto for making it sound so… Ugh! I _fainted_ on Sasuke. Whatever possessed me to do such a thing (of course, it was the _thingie_, or whatever he called the damn thing- but **STILL**)… On another note, they hadn't told me the consequences of the jutsu, so they probably didn't know it.

If they were hiding it, they would pay sooner or later.

I huffed and stood up, ready to put my embarrassment behind me so I could check for people injuries.

"Err… Sakura-chan…"

I was in the middle of my second step when I rammed into something in front of me. I took a step back, rubbing my head, and saw that my path was cleared. I had probably just imagined it. I took two steps back, now back to were I original was.

I walked forward.

And rammed myself into it again.

I felt Naruto approach me slowly from behind.

"Erm… Sakura-chan… You see…" He started slowly.

I pulled my leg backwards and swung it in front of me. Bad Idea. When my foot made contact with the barrier, blue waves had appeared around it, as if I'd dipped a finger in a pond, and tiny waves would appear for a short moment. "Ah! What the-" I yelled, grabbing my sore foot and hopping on the other. "What the hell is this?!" I asked, pointing to my side. The barrier was only visible when contact was made with it, so I couldn't see the exact boundaries of the jutsu. Naruto had said that it had only hit Sasuke and I, so I supposed other people could travel in and out of the area.

"We're stuck." Sasuke muttered.

I stared at the ground, my eyebrows furrowed in irritation. "Who's we?" I asked.

"You. Me." He said, standing up. He walked up to me in long, slow strides, until he was close enough so that I'd have to look up to see his face completely. "Maybe if I kill you these damned walls will disappear." He muttered to himself, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Stop!" I heard someone yell. I turned my head to see Rock Lee jump in between us, unough to knock be back into the barrier, for some reason I didn't. "You will not harm my beautiful Cherry Blossom!" He said at the top of his voice.

"Shh…" I hissed, feeling the pain in my head coming back.

I didn't think he heard me, but he still turned around and grabbed my shoulders. "Do not let out even one ounce of worry, dear Sakura-chan. I will protect you now! I will protect you always!" He said loudly, making me wince.

I quickly nodded my head, "Okay, okay." I said, "I got it."

He grinned widely.

I turned around and outstretched my arms, searching for the limits of the barrier. I had to take a few extra steps to find it, and concluded, "The barrier moves with us."

I turned to see Kakashi nod his head. "That's right," he said, "You and Sasuke will have to stick together until we can figure out how to reverse the jutsu. Do you understand?" He said, knowing fully well that there was something underlying in his sentence.

This thought made me shudder. It wasn't that I though it was sick- Sasuke wouldn't try anything weird, I knew that- but the thought of staying with him, mostly alone… honestly, I was a bit frightened. He was bigger than me, stronger than me, and with his sharingan, he definitely had more techniques than me. The last time I checked I was the smarter one, but he was probably just as smart as me by now, if not smarter.

I glanced at him one last time before we continued our journey back to Konoha.

Debates, arguments and protests followed after Sasuke's arrival, and Tsunade's new knowledge of the jutsu that unwillingly connected us only created more worries. He had to live with me, in my house, until my father told us that he couldn't handle our apparent waves of hostility, and we moved into an apartment not too far away from the Hokage's Building. Better safe than sorry, right? In any case, Sasuke was to stay by my side, whether he liked it or not, and was forced to follow me everywhere.

I was the boss.

I knew.

He didn't think so.

"Look, I have some ground rules to set." He said, three days after our arrival, as we sat together around a table in the mall.

My mouth, which had been stretched wide open to let in the burger I held only an inch or two away from it, lay agape, and my burger didn't make a move.

He said, "First of all; don't talk to me unless necessary. I am not some accessory with which you can make conversation."

I scowled at this and put my burger back on the plastic wrapper it had been in. "You couldn't make conversation to save your life." I muttered.

"I heard that."

"Oh, joy."

"_Second_," he continued, ignoring my comment, "Don't touch me." He said.

"What do you think I am, stupid? I like this arm, thank you very much," I said, waving my arm a bit, "And I'd rather not have you _bite it off_."

He simply sent me a glare.

"Do I get to put down some rules, too?" I said. I didn't let him answer, "First of all firsts! Please _warn_ me before you take an hour long shower, because standing right outside that door, with no where to go, for an hour or more is _not_ fun." I said.

He rolled his eyes.

"Second; Stop. Eating. The. Tomatoes. Every single time I take them out for cooking, you steal one whenever I turn my head. How do you expect me to make anything without the _tomatoes_?! There are vital, and important in the making of food." I said, pronouncing every word perfectly and slowly so he could understand.

He groaned and leaned back in his chair, his burger untouched. "Well, only if you stop eating all the ice cream." He said, crossing his arms.

"Since when do you like ice cream?" I snapped.

"It's the only sweet thing I like, deal with it." He said.

"Fine. The rules have been set."

"Perfect." And with that, he picked up his food, got up and turned around, waiting for me to follow.

After a few moments of hesitation, I packed up my own things and followed. As we walked, I noticed that Sasuke wasn't heading to the mall's exit; instead he seemed to be heading to the men's washroom. "Sasuke, you know I can't go in there." I quickly said.

"Don't call me Sasuke. It's rude." He said, stopping so abruptly that I rammed into his back.

"I don't see why you care, Sasuke-_kun_." I said, though he didn't seem to hear me.

Suddenly, he turned around, and just stared at me for a moment. "I don't think they'll notice." He said.

It took me a few seconds to realize what he'd said. "Is that your idea of a joke?!" I said, pulling up my sleeves and clenching my fist.

"Ah. Ah. _Aah_." He nearly sung, waving a finger left and right. "No touching. You made a deal."

I glared at him, but pulled down my sleeves nonetheless. "I'm not going in there." I said firmly.

"Yes, you are." He said, "Just perform a _henge_."

I light bulb seemed to light up over my head. If I performed a _henge_, which was a transformation jutsu, I could turn myself into a male. Just like Naruto could transform into a woman. Good idea, I said mentally. There was no way in hell I'd admit what I'd thought out loud. The jerk was already too cocky for his own good.

I went on with the plan. And as soon as we left the mall, we headed straight home. I'll admit, it wasn't as frightening to live with Sasuke as I'd imagined, but it was undoubtedly awkward. One time, Sasuke made the mistake of walking around shirtless.

I'm sure all the fan girls would be overjoyed, and would have probably melted right there on the floor.

I, however, was so surprised by him that I froze, and he hadn't noticed me staring at him, or so I thought. It wasn't until we finished supper that I realized how much he had been smirking that night. I had just brought the dishes to the sink to wash them, when he came over to help me. It wasn't actually to help me though, it was more of a, "I'd hate to wait for your slow ass to do it so if we both do it then it would go _so_ much faster."

Anyway, he'd come to _help_ me wash the dishes, and I could just feel the blood about to burst out of my head, so I literally yelled at the plate in front of me, "Jesus Christ!! Put a goddamn shirt on!!"

That's how it happened.

Unfortunately for you, dear fan girl staring in from the window, Sasuke will probably never take his shirt off again.

Ha-ha, sucks to be you.

Anyway, we arrived home in a few minutes, managed to cook and eat within the next hour and a half, and sat down to watch some television. I ate chips while Sasuke just munched on crackers beside me. "When do you think this stupid jutsu will end?" I asked him in the middle of our second serving of commercials.

"Hn," He shrugged.

I put down my bowl of chips beside me. "Hopefully it doesn't last until the day we die." I said, not entirely concerned. If I could choose between a lonely life as a cat lady and a life stuck with an untalkative, arrogant, cocky, dangerous, yet _amazing_ looking boy, I'd definitely choose the latter. I exhaled loudly, bringing my knees to my chest and looking into the screen. There was a commercial playing about some stain removing product.

"But," he started, his voice startling me for a moment, "That wouldn't be fun at all." He said, sounding irritated with the thought. "You'd annoy me to death."

I felt my stomach churn at his words. Had I forgotten how cold he could be? I couldn't have possibly believed his attitude had gotten _better_, could I? I turned my head away from him, laying my cheek on my knees so that he wouldn't be able to catch any sort of change in expression on my face.

"… Hm., maybe for you." I said.


	3. Chapter 3

Boundaries

**Boundaries**

"Author's Note"? What "Author's Note"?

**Disclaimer:** If I had a penny, I'd give you one.

But I don't.

**&**

**Chapter ****3:**

AFewUnwantedConfrontations

The phone rang in the middle of the show; I glanced at Sasuke, who seemed reluctant to get up. I sighed and walked towards the phone slowly, it was just within my reach. I picked up the cordless phone and pressed the 'talk' button. "Hello?" I answered.

"Oi! Sakura-chan!!" Naruto's voice was heard on the other line.

"Oh, hey Naruto-kun." I said. I walked back to the couch and sat down, looking at the clock on the television. It was 8:43 p.m. "Why are you calling now?" I asked.

"Oh, some friends and I are coming over to keep you guys company!" He said.

"You're _what_?" I hissed. Sasuke turned to look at me curiously. "Exactly how many people??" I asked.

He paused, as if looking behind him to count. He said, "Oh, just a couple."

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Wait, I have to ask Sasuke-un if it's okay." I said, knowing very well that he'd say no.

"Wait!" Naruto quickly said, "You and I know very well what his answer's going to be!"

"Why do you think I'm asking?" I snapped.

The other line went silent.

I waited, but Naruto didn't speak a word. "Hello?" I asked.

"… Sakura-chan doesn't want to see me?" He asked in a small voice. I could just imagine the adorable puppy face he had on at the moment.

I hesitated. "W-Well… well, I…" I stuttered, "Okay. Okay! Fine!" I gave up.

I could almost see his wide grin through the phone. "Thanks Sakura-chan!" He said, hanging up.

Knock, knock.

I glanced at Sasuke, who was probably trying to guess what was going on. We both jumped off the couch and walked to the door. Sasuke unlocked it and opened it, and I behind the door was Naruto, holding a phone. Behind him were too many heads to count. "Naruto! You said a _couple_!! Do you _know_ how many that is?! _Two_, Naruto!_ TWO_!!" I yelled.

Sasuke looked like he was about to slam the door shut, but Naruto put his hand against the door. "Don't you think we should celebrate?" He said.

Sasuke scoffed. "Celebrate what? The fact that you're still as stupid as the last time we've talked? The fact that I'm stuck with annoying over there?" He said, pointing to me.

Naruto's face distorted, and turned into a furious look. "First of all." He said, his inhuman strength kicking in just enough to shove the door wide open, "Do _not_ call Sakura-chan by any names. You're lucky that she saved your goddamned life." He hissed, now stepping inside.

Sasuke stood his ground, and Naruto came so close that their chests were nearly touching. "I could've died there happily, idiot. Itachi is dead now, so what the hell am I here for anyway?" He asked back, his sharingan activating.

Naruto growled, teeth now protruding from his mouth. "You're just so stupid Sasuke. What about your clan? You just wanted everything to end like you wanted it to? Do you _honestly_ think that everything would be fine when you were **dead**?" He said, with such venom in his voice that I shuddered.

Despite it all, Sasuke smirked, and repeated one of his sought over lines. "You don't know anything about me, Naruto." He spat.

Naruto swung his fist so fast; I hardly even saw him move. Sasuke was hit straight in the jaw, and I was sure it broke. He was about to jump onto Naruto. I didn't know how I even stopped him. I guessed I had foreseen it, because I was now lodged between two furious males. I tried pushing Sasuke back with my hand, but he merely grabbed tightly and hissed at me, jaw broken and all, "Don't get it my way."

By now, Kiba, who I hadn't even known was there, was holding Naruto back, and I was trying my hardest to keep Sasuke from taunting Naruto again. Hinata and Ino had been hiding somewhere within the little group as well.

"Sakura-san!" A voice cried.

Oh, right. Lee was there too.

"Lee!" I said, before he could harm Sasuke in any way, "Just help everyone calm down Naruto, I'll deal with him." I said, holding tightly onto Sasuke.

He fidgeted under my grasp, but this time I knew I wouldn't let go. I push him into the bathroom, with was the nearest place with a lockable door, and closed it -locking it as well- behind me. I let go of him, and stood specifically in front of the door, my hand on the knob. "When Tsunade said I had to be careful around you she was right." I muttered.

"Let me out of here." He growled, his voice distorted because of his crooked jaw.

I paused. "Sorry." I said.

He just glared at me. "For what?" he demanded.

"I broke a rule didn't I?" I said, pondering this for a moment.

He seemed to do the same. "Hell yeah, you did." He said, wiping some blood from his mouth.

I sighed, and we shared an awkward moment. "_Awkward turtle_." I sang.

"… What?"

"Oh, never mind."

He scoffed and crossed his arms, waiting for me to open the door for him. I stared back at him with equal stubbornness, "Come here so I can heal you." I said.

"I'm fine." He spat.

"No, you're not. Just come over here!" I insisted.

He seemed to hesitate, and I thought I'd won him over, until he said, "No."

I groaned. "Sasuke, you're jaw-"

"Sasuke-_kun_." He corrected.

I rolled my eyes. "You're jaw is broken, just let me fix it." I said. He seemed unconvinced, so I added, "Unless you want to sound like an inarticulate geezer for the rest of your life."

After some more hesitation, he unwillingly approached me and waited for me to do my work. I lifted both hands to his mouth and began to repair his jaw. As I did so, I noticed the tips of his mouth twitching, and he wouldn't stop grimacing.

"Would you stop that? I'm trying to heal you, but you keep moving!" I complained.

"It tickles." He whined.

"What?" I said, "It-It _tickles_?" I stuttered, covering my mouth to keep from laughing. He frowned at me as I burst out laughing, and wouldn't stop.

"Stop laughing." He commanded, but I didn't.

"I-Oh I-I'm sorry…" I said through my laughter, which was slowly dieing down. "God, Sasuke-kun," I giggled, "No one has ever said that!"

He rolled his eyes and grabbed my hand, pulling it to his face. "Heal it, and make it quick." He ordered, now out of patience.

I blushed, feeling his warm, smooth skin under my palm.

He frowned when I didn't start healing him. "What?" He asked.

I snapped out of daze and quickly shook my head. "Nothing!" I said, "Nothing!"

He ignored this as I began to heal him with both hands again, still blushing mildly. "Okay." I said, finishing. I kept my hands on his face, putting pressure on certain points, feeling the bones connected to his jaw. I nodded my head, "Everything is well in place" I said, more to myself than him. I kept my hands on his face a bit longer, absent minded checking over what I'd already noted as good.

"Sakura-chan..." Sasuke said, after a moment.

"Hm?" I murmured, slightly turning his head and examining what didn't need examining at all.

"You said you were done." He deadpanned.

I snapped out of my reverie and pulled my hands back, blushing profusely again. "Right, sorry!" I said quickly. I turned around, and unlocked the door. I opened it slowly, because I could feel Sasuke getting tense behind me. When it was open completely, we both walked out, and we spotted everyone of the couch, watching TV.

They all turned their heads to us, Naruto grinning. "Sorry about that, Sasuke. Just lost it there for a second." He said.

I rolled my eyes, and Sasuke seemed surprised that it was over. No more fighting. Just one punch and that was it. On the couch sat Hinata, Ino, Kiba, Naruto and Lee. "Sakura-a-a!" Ino sang, "Come over here, we're watching one of your old home videos!" She said.

"What?" I said, quickly running to the TV to see for myself. "What is this? How'd you get it?" I demanded, seeing a smaller version of my self falling off a bicycle.

"I found it." Ino lied.

I frowned at her. "Seriously?" I asked.

"Yeah! I stole this from you a long time ago. I found it under my couch yesterday and told Naruto, so we made plans." She said deviously.

I just blinked at the group, who were watching me try and fail over and over to ride a bike. They laughed every time I fell, too. I wondered how they still found it funny after the 5th time. I tried to go around the couch to sit down, but rammed into the barrier. I angrily glanced at Sasuke, who was still standing where I'd left him, looking something akin to mesmerized.

I walked back to him and waved my hand in front of his face. "Sasuke-kun, are you there?" I asked, snapping my finger.

The noise seemed to bring him back, and he stared at me. "Sakura-chan." He said, as though he had just realized who I was.

"Yeah, that's my name." I said, rolling my eyes. "Come on, let's go watch too." I said, turning around and walking to the couch. The raven haired boy obliged, smirking when I felt off my bike again.

-

-

I yawned and stretched as Sasuke shut the door behind our parting guests. Hinata had left us a cake she had made, and Naruto had left us a half eaten cup of instant ramen. It was now 10:32p.m., and Sasuke and I decided to head to bed. Of course, the barrier had enough space for us to sleep in separated beds. The bedroom was on the smaller side, so each bed was pushed against a wall, parallel to each other, and when we changed into our pyjamas at night we always had our backs facing each other.

As we changed into our pyjamas that night, a knock on our window startled me. I screamed, just after putting on my long pyjama shirt, which ended mid-thigh. It was a little short but I figured Sasuke wouldn't notice. Sasuke's head shot to the window as well, and I glanced at him, he was wearing his pyjama pants, yet was shirtless. The half naked Uchiha didn't even look at me as he walked to the window and opened it, and I sighed. A messenger bird was standing on the window sill, holding out one foot.

He untied the rolled up paper attached to its leg, and it turned around and flew away. He slid off the ribbon keeping the paper neatly rolled up, too occupied to close the window. I shivered slightly from the breeze that entered our room, but Sasuke didn't even flinch. I stuck my tongue out at his back, and walked to the window to close it.

"Sakura-chan," He called me. I walked towards him, leaning in so I cold read the contents of the paper. "Tsunade wants us to see her at her office first thing tomorrow morning." He explained, not letting me read for myself. The hand writing was sloppy, so I guessed Shizune had forced the Hokage to right it while the woman was in a drunken state.

"Okay," I said, nodding my head. He handed me the paper, then quickly slipped on his shirt, and slid into his bed. I put down by the window and walked back to my own bed, stretching my arms over my head. I put on my pyjama shorts, disappearing under my blanket afterwards. When I reached over to my lamp to turn it off, I noticed that Sasuke was looking at me.

He looked like he wanted to say something, but the moment I shut off the light, I heard him turn under his blanket, discarding the thought.

-

-

"Shit!"

I slowly opened my eyes to see Sasuke trying to get his pants on in a hurry, hopping on one foot as he did so. After sticking in his other foot and nearly falling over in the process, he put on his shirt on backwards. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, watching him in confusion. He pulled a pair of socks from his drawer and while putting on the first one, and noticed that his shirt wasn't on properly. He threw the sock behind him in frustration. He then pulled in his arms from the sleeves and spun it around, putting his arms back into the right places.

"Sasuke-kun?" I mumbled, still rubbing my left eye absent-mindedly.

"Sakura-chan, hurry up and get dressed." He told me, now trying to find out where he threw his sock.

"What's going on?" I asked, yawning.

He found his sock, and then glanced at me. He picked up the letter from Tsunade and pointed outside. "Afternoon!" He said, "_AFTERNOON!_"

I blinked.

Data processing.

Loading, please wait.

…

Data successfully processed.

"Shit!!" I yelled, jumping out of my bed as well and running to get some clothes. I glanced out the window, it looked hot outside. I pulled out a handful of clothes, and settled with a light knee-length skirt. It was white and frilly, with three big blue flowers on it going up the side of my leg, the biggest at the bottom and the smallest at the top. I took a simple light blue T-shirt and a thin beige hooded sweater, left unzipped to keep from boiling under the sun.

I turned around, and Sasuke was slipping on his shoes as fast as he could. I slipped my feet into some flats and waited for him. He finally got his laces tied and all and looked up to me. "Okay, let's go." He said.

We both dashed out the door, jumping down the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. We burst through the front entrance, bumping a few people on our way, and ran down the street. I held one hand over my eyes so the sun didn't blind me, and the other held my skirt so it didn't fly up in the wind. We scared a few people by the speed we travelled in, our chakra enhance speed was definitely handy. To strangers, we must have looked like ninja thieves, running from authorities, for we both still had weapon pouches around our hips and headbands on our heads, and we had nervous looks on our faces.

We arrived at the Hokage's building and scaled the stairs in seconds. We rushed through the door so fast that it detached itself from the wall, flying away. We immediately bowed down as low as humanly possible, and blurted, "Please forgive us, Hokage-sama. We are terribly sorry for arriving so late."

There was an ear deafening silence, and we both shot up, standing especially straight. Tsunade just stared at us, eyes slightly wide in surprise. "Oh," She said, putting down her pencil, "I forgot about you two."

We sweatdropped.

"Oh, I guess we should start then right?" She asked, standing up.

Sasuke and I glanced at each other.

Gulp.


	4. Chapter 4

Boundaries

**Boundaries**

Here we go again. This story probably won't be anything more than 10 chapters, so if you've been worrying; don't.

**Disclaimer:** Okay, what could I possibly say to convince you? Ah, how about:

If I owned Naruto then the female characters would kick total ass.

**&**

**Chapter ****4:**

_Short Shorts._

Tsunade brought us outside to one of the training fields. Kakashi was supposed to meet us there as well but was, of course, late again. "Sakura," She said, "Can you come here so I can talk to you for a second?"

I glanced at Sasuke, motioning with my hand for him to follow. He stood a few steps away as we spoke.

"It hasn't been bad or anything has it?" She asked. She spoke very quietly to me, so that Sasuke wouldn't overhear.

I cocked an eyebrow. "What hasn't been bad?" I asked.

"You know," she said, "This whole barrier thing. Sasuke didn't do anything unacceptable has he?" She asked.

I rolled my eyes before shaking my head. "No," I said, "No. He hasn't."

She slowly nodded her head, her hand on her chin. "Okay," She said. "Because I don't really like this whole thing with you two…" She explained.

I narrowed my eyes at her, but still spoke in a quiet voice. "There is _nothing_ between us. There has never been _anything_." I said, feeling some anger arising from my memories of _nothing_.

Tsunade kept quiet for a while, looking down at me with a mixed look of worry and frustration. "Sakura," She paused.

I looked at her, wishing for her to continue.

She took a deep breath. "I just don't want you to get hurt again." She finally said.

I was about to say something when she walked past me, squeezing my shoulder as she did so. She glanced at Sasuke, then back at me. I thought there was something hidden in the look she gave me, but I couldn't catch the underlying meaning. "Alright," She started, putting her hands on her hips, "I've brought you both here to experiment this jutsu that's been forced on you. _Honestly, it's more like a curse_." She muttered afterwards.

"Experiment, how?" Sasuke asked cautiously.

Tsunade's look turned sour, and she began to chew on her lower lip. "Kakashi was supposed to be here by now. We won't be able to do much without him… But the point of bringing you two here was to test the limits of the barrier. In other words, the_ boundaries_…" She said, trailing off again.

"So… Is there like, a measuring tape involved or something?" I asked, glancing sideways at Sasuke.

Tsunade frowned. "Not exactly." She paused. "Sakura, you can't wear a skirt during training." She muttered.

"Eh?" I squeaked, suddenly realizing this. "Oh… right." I said.

"I'm guessing Kakashi won't be here for a while, so if you're quick, you can go change." She advised me.

My face flushed as I nodded my head and departed with Sasuke close behind me.

-

-

"That's really… short." Sasuke commented when I came out of the room wearing jean short shorts – stolen from Ino Yamanaka's closet, of course.

I frowned. "Well, it's scorching hot out there, _in case you haven't noticed_." I muttered, taking off the zip-up hoodie I had worn over my T-shirt and throwing it on my bed.

He remained silent as he followed me outside.

As soon as I stepped out of the building, I ran into Neji, who was in his jounin uniform and holding a little bag filled with the rewards of a successful mission. He half-smiled as I apologized to him and side stepped out of the way. Instead of passing, he half-smirked at me, eyeing both Sasuke and I curiously.

"Still stuck, I see." He said.

Sasuke glared at him in response, while I chuckled. "Yeah." I said, passing my hand over my thigh self-consciously as I suddenly realized how _short_ the _shorts_ really were. Damn Ino-pig.

Neji seemed to notice this, and, at the sight, looked somewhat amused. "Sporting off those legs, are we?" He murmured.

I blushed at his comment and bowed my head, peering at Sasuke through the strands of hair hanging at the side of my face. I didn't think Sasuke had heard, he seemed to be looking past Neji, as though seeing something peculiar in the distance.

"Well," Neji said suddenly, "I should go now."

"Oh. Okay, see you." I said.

I swore I saw his hand reach up to his face as he passed…

… to pinch his nose.

-

-

I walked over to a tree, Sasuke forced to follow, and sat down with my back against the trunk, my legs sprawled in front of me. It was hard to be decent in the short shorts I was wearing. I heard Sasuke sigh as he sat down near me, his back also against the tree trunk. He had one leg lying horizontally in the grass, like mine, and the other pulled up, his arm resting on it.

Tsunade still sat on the bench we had found her on, muttering things to herself like; _better than paperwork…_

I turned to look at Sasuke, whose eyes were closed and peaceful looking. "Sasuke-kun…" I whispered.

One eye opened, but did not make a move to look at me.

I hesitated before speaking. "That beam, jutsu, _thing_, or whatever it was. When you were in Sound… did you hear of anyone who could use such a technique?" I asked, shifting closer to him.

He opened both eyes and stared at the ground, his face blank. "No." He said flatly.

I frowned. "Just… Just think. Did you ever hear anything? Like some rumour, or something?" I asked.

He sighed, rolling his eyes. "No." he repeated- I lowered my gaze, "I rarely left, if at all, Orochimaru's bases." He said, gaining back my attention, "Only once, I remember… I was told to defeat a large group of sound nin, as part of my training."

I waited for him to continue, edging closer very slowly as his voice grew quieter.

"In the end, I did. There were probably between 70 or 100 of them. They were soldiers." He muttered.

I felt my eyes widen. "You killed them?" I asked him.

He looked away from me, and said something.

I slid so close my leg was nearly touching the hand supporting him. "What?" I whispered.

"I spared them." He repeated.

I let out a sigh of relief, my eyes closing for a few seconds. Maybe he wasn't as bad as I had initially thought. When I opened them, he was staring at me.

"Don't get me wrong. I wasn't hesitant to kill them. I wasn't afraid." He said, his eyes narrowing, "I just don't need worthless blood to be spilled."

I kept my silence as he turned his head, staring straight ahead again.

"Yo."

I was so surprised to hear his voice; it so much clearer and louder than Sasuke's. "Kakashi-sensei." I said and nodded my head. I thought he was about to give us some lame – and _fake _– excuse, but he merely glanced at Sasuke and held his peace.

"It's about time you lazy nin." Tsunade grumbled, rising from the bench with a foul expression, her hand on her hip.

"I apologize, Hokage-sama. I'll take over now." He said, grinning under his mask.

Sasuke rose to his feet, his hand accidentally rubbing off my skin as he did so. I must have looked flustered, although he had only brushed his hand against me. Tsunade was staring at me, concern flooding her face. I shook my head and quickly followed.

-

-

I yawned and nearly fell over as I stumbled over a crack in the road. Sasuke was walking in front of me, annoyed at how slow I was going. I stuck my tongue out at him as I heard him 'tch'. He seemed to sense this, and sighed before turning his head. "Hurry up." He ordered me.

"Nooo…" I hissed, stopping instead. I could hear his footsteps, he had also stopped and was approaching me now. I was crouching, my back curved, and when I looked up, I saw him kneeling on the ground, his back facing me and his arm stretched backwards towards me.

"Get on." He muttered.

I gaped at him, unable to move my legs or speak another word. I raised my hands to cup my face. It was hot. "S-S-Seriously…?" I asked. He groaned, and I realized he was about to get up, so I quickly hopped on his back. I loosely hung my arms over his shoulders as he got up and began to walk. It was tempting to bury my face in his dark hair and just suck in its luscious scent, but I managed to fight it. Sort of. I let out an involuntary sigh and wrapped my arms around his neck properly, laying my head against his.

He walked very slowly, keeping a strict pace as he neared our apartment building. I was exhausted from our training. We hadn't done much, but what we did do tired me out. I was sure Sasuke was tired as well, he just didn't show it. The sun was still up; it was hardly even time for supper. We earned various stares as we walked through the village. My hair, which I had grown out to just-a-little-past-shoulder-length, was in a messy bun to keep from getting in my face during training.

I reached back to pull out the elastic, and held it around my wrist. My messy hair fell casually out of place and brushed against Sasuke's face. He turned his head towards me, my eyes half-closed.

They were slowly closing as I lost consciousness, but I didn't miss his smirk and the red tint on his cheeks.

-

-

I moaned and twisted around as I came to. I was holding something unfamiliarly warm. It was too dark to see exactly, but moonlight entering from our bedroom window sketched out the outline of the figure in front of me. I gasped and frantically tried to back away from the body sleeping so close to me, but one of my arms was stuck underneath it.

"S-Sasuke-kun…?" I mumbled, still in shock. His back was facing me. I was a little cold, considering my attire and the lack of blanket. I tried to remember how I had gotten there. It couldn't have been later than midnight, if I had been asleep since that afternoon. I tried to slip my arm out from underneath him as smoothly as possible, but I was afraid he'd stir. I let out an exasperated sigh and half-sat up.

With only the faint light from outside I managed to spot the blanket; underneath my feet. I pulled it up and did the best job I could of covering us both with it. I then sighed and lay back down. I tried once more to slide my arm out from under him, and then realized something. Sasuke's arm was against mine, holding it against his chest.

I was so close to him.

I was practically pressed against him. I tried to rid myself of any bad thoughts and shook my head. His body suddenly flinched. '_Shit_…' I thought. I knew what was coming next. He turned over, half of his body on top of mine (not to mention the lack of circulation in my arm) and his shoulder and outstretched arm were squishing my chest now.

I cursed under my breath. I wasn't in pain - in fact I was quite comfortable, lying under his warm body – but it was way too awkward. What if he woke up? His face was so close to mine. What if he came too close? I shuddered and tried to think on the bright side.

Which only brought perverted thoughts…

I groaned and slapped my forehead with my free hand, proceeding to slide it down my face. "Sa… ku… kura…" Sasuke mumbled in his sleep, tilting his head downward. I froze, my breath held tight in my lungs. "… a… annoying…" he muttered, his face forming a slight frown.

I growled angrily. My heart sank.

"Shut up…" He kept speaking, "…just… let me… let… me…" He continued.

I closed my eyes, ready for the worst.

He said, "… pro….protect… pro… tect…"

I froze again.

"… protect you."

I didn't open my eyes. I simply smiled as I wrapped my arms around his body, his muscles relaxed for once, and his face peaceful.

_Just sucking in his scent_.

-

-

That morning was strange. I woke up to find myself alone in Sasuke's bed. I sleepily turned and buried my face in his pillow, which still held his smell. When I turned my head and opened my eyes, he was sitting on the floor sorting out dirty clothes. "Whites…" He mumbled to himself, throwing the white shirt into a growing pile of similar clothing. I moaned and turned my head again, closing my eyes.

"Sakura…?" He said quietly.

I muttered an incomprehensible combination of syllables and turned onto my back to sit up. "Hmm?" I responded.

He just watched me as I threw off the blanket and slid my legs over the bed, putting my feet on the ground. I was still in my shorts. I didn't fail to miss him gazing at my legs.

"Sasukeee-kunn…" I drawled, rubbing my eyes.

He grunted a simple and short; "Hn?"

I paused. "… Why am I in your bed?" I asked, pulling down my T-shirt, which had nearly risen to my waist in my sleep.

Sasuke face turned beet red – or should I say… _tomato_?

I smiled curiously. "Huh." I said, "I suppose nothing could have happened, because (a) you're Sasuke; you wouldn't have the guts and (b) I'm still fully clothed."

Sasuke glared at me, as though scolding me for thinking such things. "First of all, I'm not afraid of you – or anyone for that matter - and second, _you _were the one who wouldn't let go of _me_."

I blinked. "_What?_" I asked.

He rolled his eyes. "I let you ride on my back _one time_ and you never let go; that taught me something." He muttered. "You wouldn't get off so I was forced let you sleep in my bed. You didn't even-"

I rose from his bed and walked right in front of him, kneeling down to meet his gaze. "You aren't afraid?" I asked.

He blinked and looked up at me. Then frowned. "Never was and never will be." He deadpanned.

I smirked devilishly. "Oh, really?" I asked.

His frown deepened. "What are you scheming, Haruno?" He cut to the chase.

I giggled and put my hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun…. You are so naïve. You are so _afraid_."


	5. Chapter 5

Boundaries

**Boundaries**

Here we go again. This story probably won't be anything more than 10 chapters, so if you've been worrying; don't.

**Disclaimer:** I doubt Masashi Kishimoto writes fan fictions about his own JAPANESE anime series in ENGLISH, if at all.

**&**

**Chapter ****5:**

Sasuke just stared at me, half-glaring.

"I bet," I said, "That by the end of this month-"

A loud tapping at the window interrupted my challenge, and I walked over to open it. A messenger bird flew in casually and perched itself on my drawer. Damn Hokage couldn't work a phone. I walked over to it, untying the letter from the birds foot, and letting it fly back out the window. I unrolled the paper as Sasuke went to close the window, and read aloud:

_Dear Haruno Sakura… and Uchiha Sasuke,_

_I, Tsunade, your village Hokage, have approved your entry into the Konoha University to study in Medical Care. Sasuke will, like it or not, be accompanying you in these classes and will be sharing a dorm with you and Miss Hyuuga Hinata._

_Your courses will commence on the first day of September, the start of the school year, and clipped to this letter you shall find your class hours and your list of Books._

_We hope you have a wonderful, fulfilling, and educational first-year at Konoha University. We will be overjoyed at your arrival!_

_Sincerely,_

_Tsunade,_

_Hokage of Konohagakure_

I simply stared at the letter, my mouth agape. "Omigod." I said quickly, "Omigod. Omigod. Omigod."

Sasuke stared at me, frowning slightly. "You're studying to become a Medic-nin?" Sasuke asked, perplexed.

I stared pointedly at him. "Um. _Yes_. And I'm going to totally _own_!" I sung, balling my hands into fist and wiggling them in my face, my arms against my chest. "Omigod." I repeated, out of breath. "We have to go buy books. A lot of books." Sasuke sighed.

"Do I _have_ to come?" He muttered, dropping a pair of my skinny jeans into a laundry basket half-heartedly.

I rolled my eyes and started digging in my closet. I chucked out a pair of dark skinny jeans, a white blouse and soft red cardigan. I signaled Sasuke, who was already dressed, to turn his head- to which he obliged. After quickly changing, I slipped my feet into my favorite red converses and dragged Sasuke out the door.

-

-

"Omigod." I said, staring inside an expensive shoe store, "Look at those freakin' boots Sasuke-kun." – I turned to look at him, my hands still implanted on the store window – "Look at those freakin' BOOTS. I _need_ them." I heaved.

He sighed loudly in exasperation. "We aren't here for footwear; we're supposed to be buying books." He reminded me as I slid to the ground, having seen the price tag.

"Ah, right." I mumbled. I got up, sparing one last glance at the boots before turning and leaving. I started by pulling out the list, entering the bookstore, and walking into someone. "Ah, sorry." I mumbled, one hand on my forehead. I'd rammed it into a book.

"N-No, I'm sorry, S-Sakura-chan." Hinata mumbled. She glanced at Sasuke, who caught her gaze, and flinched, momentarily frightened. "E-Erm. Goodbye." She quickly said, racing out of the store.

I sighed, walking to the fourth aisle. "That wasn't nice." I muttered, passing my finger along the books in the top shelf as I checked for the correct title.

"What?" He hissed.

I rolled my eyes, pausing in my search. "You scared the crap out of her, you know? Can't you smile or something?" I asked.

He scoffed.

"Okay, maybe not smiling." I said, "But," I paused again, pulling out a book and passing it to him.

He sighed and took the book. "But?" He asked.

I continued my search. "You always look like you're about to _kill_ someone." I told him, another book in hand.

He took the book from me. "Maybe I'm thinking about." He muttered to himself.

"Or maybe you just need to relax." I said, taking out the last book and walking to the cashier.

He raised an eyebrow as we put the books on the counter. "Relax?" He asked.

I nodded my head as I pullet out my wallet. "You know what?" I asked, putting down the money. I waited until we left the store to continue. "Let's fast-food it tonight." I suggested.

He paused. "Fast-food it?" He sighed.

I knew then I'd have to fight for it. Until I heard Naruto call my name from across the street. I turned my head to see him running towards us, sliding between walking villagers. He stopped right in front of us, grinning as usual.

"Guess what, Sakura-chan!" He exclaimed, resting an arm over my shoulders.

I sighed. "What?" I asked.

"We've got a mission!" He announced.

I stopped right in my tracks. "_What_?" I hissed.

He flinched at my change of tone. "W-Well… Granny-Tsunade said it was really urgent, and you and I were the only ones that weren't busy…" He mumbled. It irked me that he didn't so much as glance in Sasuke's direction.

I let out a strained breath and fisted my sweaty hands.

"Wanna go for ramen, Sakura-chan?" He suggested. It calmed me to hear this.

Sasuke still seemed to frown upon this. "Aren't you supposed to be preparing for our mission?" He muttered questionably.

I rolled my eyes, and began walking, Naruto's arm still slung around my shoulder.

-

-

I sighed as the voluminous owner of the stand gave me my second bowl of ramen with a broad grin. It was getting late. I thanked him and split my chopsticks, mirroring his grin. "So, Naruto," I said, playing with my noodles with the two thin pieces of wood in my hands as I watched the blond sitting to my left.

"Mmpf?" He asked with noodles shoved into his mouth. He was at his… what? _Sixth bowl_? I heard Sasuke snort on my right.

"Tell me about this mission." I told him.

He nodded his jerk quickly and brought down his noodles. "Well," He started, licking his lips, "Sai is coming too," He told me, a hint of bitterness in his voice.

I smiled a bit as I nodded my head. "Oh…" I said, turning to Sasuke, "Tsunade told you about him, didn't she?" I asked him.

"Yeah." He simply said.

"Well, just to warn you, he's very…"

"- Much like you. He's a jerk." Naruto muttered.

"Naruto," I warned. "I'd say he's very… blunt. So be patient with him, please? He's really not that bad." I told him and gave Naruto a threatening glare.

He pushed his empty bowl forward. "Whatever."

If we hadn't been bound together he probably would've walked away. I giggled at the amount of power I had over him, and then the giddy laugh died down when I thought; _and vice-versa_.

Naruto pushed away his bowl as well. "I'm sure Tsunade will summarize the mission with you tomorrow morning, Saku-chan." He said, looking down at my bowl.

Suddenly, I wasn't in the mood for ramen. I smiled at the look he gave the steaming noodles. "Take it," I said, pulling out a bill and setting it on the counter. I looked up to the stand owner's daughter. "Keep the change," I said, smiling. She grinned back cheerfully, though the change was only a few dollars.

"Can we go now?" Sasuke asked impatiently, already standing outside, his hand lifting the cloth serving as minimal privacy.

I simply nodded my head and walked out, following the Uchiha as we walked. I sighed, checking my watch. There was still time to pack. I wasn't tired. I looked up, Sasuke was looking right back at me. He turned his head as soon as I spotted him and kept walking. I kept staring into his back.

"Sakura," He said.

Was he talking to me? Was he _voluntarily _engaging into conversation? For serious?

"Tell me more of this 'Sai' person." He said.

I walked faster so that I was walking right next to him, and held my hands behind my back. "Why so curious?" I asked him. When he didn't answer, I sighed. "Team ma-Well, friend or ours. Naruto and I, I mean." I said.

He was silent for a while. "Naruto dislikes him." He stated.

I shrugged. "So? Like I said before, he takes some time to getting used to." I told him quietly. "Why?" I asked again. He didn't answer. I rolled my eyes as we turned into the building's lobby. Within the next minute, I was locking the door and he was heading to our room. I had no choice but to follow him. He was already removing his shirt when he got in so I supposed he was taking the time to get into pajamas. I picked up my own from my bed, quickly changing into the shorts and tank top, pulling a sweater over myself for warmth.

I heard him follow me as I walked to the door, having been waiting for me, I guessed. I walked towards the living room and went to pick up the remote while he fell onto the couch. As soon as I looked his way, his eyes fluttered and shut closed. I couldn't help but smile. Had he really been that exhausted? He was probably getting some rest for the upcoming mission. I gave myself the freedom of sitting in front of his resting body, my back to his stomach.

I sighed, putting down the remote to looked at him. His chest heaved in and out sporadically as I stared at him, his features somewhat softer. I sighed and stretched, surprised to find that I, as well, was exhausted. My eyes suddenly became heavier, so suddenly that it alarmed me. I smiled as I stared at him, a hand reaching up and touch his face. My fingers had barely traced over his pale skin when his eyes shot open and his arm pulled me down towards him.

I fell sideways onto the couch and felt two strong arms wrap tightly around my waist, I gasped as I was pressed against him, my head in the crook of his neck.

"_Sakura_." I heard the familiar masculine voice hiss in me ear. He was angry.

I gasped and tried to free myself, but sleep called me. "Sasuke…" I whispered silently, "_Stop_." I warned him. I felt the muscles in his arms flex as he nearly squeezed the breath out of me.

"Keep your distance, Sakura. Do not forget the rules that have been set. Do not forget that I could kill you at any moment." He murmured in my ear.

I struggled to keep still. "You wouldn't…" I said quietly. He chuckled, but didn't answer. "You _couldn't_." I stated.

"Maybe not. It doesn't mean I can't try." He retorted.

I closed my eyes. "Why are you doing this?" My voice was faint.

There was a long pause. I repeated my question a second time, and finally he answered. "You need to be reminded." He told me, his voice suddenly softer, "There are boundaries."

I smiled. "Right." And I felt into an unnatural slumber.

-

-

When I awoke, I was untied. I was in my room. Lying in my bed and facing the wall. It was hot under my blanket, which I quickly jerked off, followed slowly by my sweater. I tossed it aside and sat there on my bed, trying to decide if I'd just dreamt that or not.

"You're awake."

His voice startled me, sending shivers up my spine. Something told me I hadn't dreamt a thing. We had a mission. "No shit, Sherlock." I cursed groggily.

"Don't play with your life," He muttered.

I wasn't going down without a fight. I wasn't going to deny that he was more powerful and skilled than I was, but even if he tried to kill me, I would at least give him one or two lethal blows. I scowled at my thoughts. Why was I measuring the chances of my death?

"Get dressed. Everyone's waiting." He said, his tone lighter.

I turned to glare at him, but he wasn't looking my way, and there was something about his expression that made my swallow my words. "You don't have to do this. You can be good. We can make new lives for ourselves. You'll be a Konoha shinobi again, you'll be _you_."

He shook his head, and then turned to me. The weight of his stare was so morbid and depressing that I had trouble keeping his gaze. "Honestly, Sakura, what fairy tale do you live in? I don't deserve any good from this village. I _abandoned _it." He said, his last words coming out in a snarl.

I didn't flinch by his tone. "Are you afraid that no one will forgive you?" I asked.

He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

"Half the village will probably resent you until your death, but some can still forgive. The fairy tale I live goes by the title of 'reality'. Maybe it's a more optimistic sense of reality, but its close.

But… even while we forgive, we won't _forget_. That's what you should remember."


	6. Chapter 6

**Boundaries**

I can't believe I actually updated Miss Trouble Magnet after 137 days. Like… it's amazing. It feels like some monstrous weight was been lifted from my shoulders (cough readers cough)!

Yeah, really.

**Disclaimer:** Disclaiming is fun… and useless.

**&**

**Chapter ****6:**

I was in the bathroom, stepping out of the shower, when I heard the doorbell ring. I cursed under my breath. I walked to the door. "Sasuke-kun," I called, knocking lightly on the door. I heard a muffled response. "I'll be right out." I told him. I quickly dried myself and slipped into my clothes in record time, opening the door with one hand while the other threw away the towel on my damp hair.

Sasuke and I walked to the door, unsurprised to see Naruto and Sai when it opened. Naruto walked in nonchalantly, followed by a more hesitant Sai. "Why do you always take so long, Ugly?" Sai asked me, earning a glare from Naruto.

I let the nickname slip, just that one time. I walked to the door, slipping on my shoes. "Alright, let's go see Tsunade-shishou." I sighed.

-

-

I kept my distance from Sasuke as we stood in front of the Hokage, not yet drunk but well on her way. "Simple mission," She almost slurred. "I need you four to retrieve a stolen scroll in the village hidden in the sand."

I frowned. "The sand?" I asked.

"I know what you're thinking. Yes, they're our allies, but we're responsible for this scroll. It's important that you retrieve it as quickly as possible. The Kazekage is already aware of this and has already told his Nin about the situation. They'll take it if they see it, but they will not go looking for it. Don't forget that they're still in the middle of rebuilding the village and all that stuff." She took another whiff of her Sake. "I expect you to return to the village within this week, or the amount or your reward will be diminished."

I couldn't afford to have the reward diminished. I had to pay rent soon.

"Sakura, take this scroll. It has more information on the suspected gang of thieves and will aid you in finding both them and the right scroll. With that said, do not engage in combat with them unless necessary." She told me. I stepped up to her desk to accept it, Sasuke having to take a step forward as well. "You will be leading this mission," She said and then whispered to me only; "Do your sensei proud?" She asked.

I grinned and nodded my head.

"Wait," I heard a rebellious voice protest, "Why does _Sakura-chan_ get to be team leader?" Naruto whined.

"Naruto, you're hardly capable of managing Konohamaru." Tsunade groaned.

Naruto flushed in embarrassment and crossed his arms over his chest as he looked away. I giggled and slid the scroll into my pouch.

"Well, what're you all waiting for? Get to work!" The alcoholic exclaimed, and the three Nin and I disappeared from her office.

-

-

I examined the dark, quiet area thoroughly before making my announcement. "We'll set up camp here." I told the boys behind me. Naruto yawned, swinging off the sleeping bag rolled up and hanging on his back like a backpack. He untied the securing string tying it in place and fell down onto it.

"Sai-kun," I called the boy, who had unrolled his bag in the same fashion as the blond. "I need you to get some firewood for tomorrow morning." I said. He nodded his head and opened a drawing scroll, painting something on it. I turned to Naruto, who had already dosed off, and pulled out the blanket under him and set it over his lean, yet muscular form. I smiled and stroked his face gently, aware of Sasuke's watchful eyes.

"It's a habit." He barely whispered.

I had a hard time deciding whether it was a statement or question, so I simply shrugged. Naruto snorted a bit and then started snoring loudly. I laughed a bit as I rolled him onto his side, efficiently stopping the noise. I turned to Sasuke, whose eyes narrowed to slits. I followed his gaze, watching the animals in Sai's drawings come to life. I rolled my eyes and approached Sai, watching in awe as the elephant he'd drawn tore off a whole branch, and then vanished, the ink that had created it pouring to the ground.

"Thanks," I said quietly. He quietly rolled up his scroll and put away it away, along with his brush and ink. "You can leave it there, it looks a little heavy," I told him, "It's not like anyone will steal it." I said, yawning. Sai nodded his head, glancing at Naruto's sleeping form. "Oh," I said, "You can go ahead and sleep, too, I'll take watch first."

"Okay, Ugly," He said, a smile on his face. I felt my eye twitch when I heard Sasuke snicker behind me.

"Say that again all you'll take guard duty for the whole night." I muttered. He immediately stopped smiling and slid into his bed. I let myself smile smugly for a moment, sensing Sasuke approach me.

"I can see why Naruto dislikes him." Sasuke said. He was sitting down by the tree behind me and closing his eyes; his back leaning against the tree and his legs crossed.

"Hm." I opened my pouch and pulled out the scroll Tsunade had given me.

Sasuke snorted. "He reminds him of me?" He asked, though it was more of a statement.

I felt my eyes widen, calming my expression a split second later. "No," I said, turning to look at him; he opened one eye and raised an eyebrow, "He reminds everyone of you. In more ways than one, I would say." I sighed, rolling open the scroll. Now both his eyes were open, and he stared intently at the scroll.

He was silent for a moment as he watched me read the kanji on the scroll. "You…" He finally said. I turned to him. "You," he repeated, "didn't… touch him." He said quietly.

I just stared at him for a moment, a smile spreading on my face. "He's not asleep." I told him. I heard Sai shift in the warm bag in response. "And if he doesn't stop _eavesdropping_," I continued, my voice turning up a notch, "Someone will have to _make him_ sleep." I threatened.

He stopped moving.

Once everyone was asleep, I safely put away the scroll and created shadow clones to check the perimeter. I then crossed my legs and sat, waiting for anyone or anything to attack. The two hours went by quickly. My legs were getting sore from sitting for so long. I went to check on Naruto, who I found still fast asleep. I crawled over to Sai, and couldn't help but smooth out his hair as he slept soundly.

"Sakura," I suddenly heard. I guess I could go ahead and throw the honorifics out the window.

I turned and whispered back, "What?"

He muttered something.

I sat there, leaning towards him. "Huh?"

He repeated himself, but still, I couldn't hear.

I turned to him. "Look, I've still got five minutes to go before its Sai's t-" Memories flashed before my eyes. One of my shadow clones had been destroyed.

"Someone's here," Sasuke finally whispered coherently - a little too late.

Another shadow clone. I rushed over to wake up Sai. And another.

Naruto groggily woke up.

Another.

I cursed under my breath as I readied a kunai in my hand. I hushed the group as the last shadow clone was taken down. I stood still, only my head moving as we readied ourselves for an enemy. I tensed as I felt the last shadow clone being eliminated. I glanced towards Sasuke. We were only supposed to retrieve a stolen scroll, and I hadn't even prepared myself for a fight. Sure, I had weapons – but Sasuke was _attached_ to me, my range was limited.

I threw out a throng of shuriken at the first ninja that appeared, successfully stopping him. I flipped the kunai around my finger before throwing it as well, hitting him square in the eye. His limp body fell to the ground with a thud. A poof of smoke, and he was gone, replaced by a hefty log. Great. These guys weren't just pranksters; I'd thrown those shuriken too fast for a genin to doge them successfully. I placed my hand on the ground. A technique I'd created myself; to pass my chakra into the earth and measure the distance and strength of the enemies in the area by _feeling_ their chakra.

My face paled. There were too many of them, most not even clones. Maybe fifty of them? A hundred? Two hundred? There were so many signals coming at me I couldn't even tell. I cursed under my breath and turned to check my teammates. Sasuke was staring at me. "We're retreating." I whispered to them all, though locking gazes with the ebony haired boy.

He didn't nod his head, but instead silently obliged. We burst into the trees, taking the path with the least enemies. We got into position; Naruto in front, Sasuke and Sai in the middle, and I in back. I turned my head, spotting at least twenty of the identical ninja followed closely behind us. I grabbed Sasuke's hand and jumped down from the tree, charging chakra into my leg and foot, and smashed it into the ground as I landed, creating a whole fissure and uprising the earth. I heard the boy cursed colourfully behind me before I quickly turned around and kept running, suddenly nearly tripping when my leg began to tingle.

What was this feeling? Slowly, it began weighing me down. I was slowing down. We were already too far to see any more ninja, but something told me they'd retreated. Suddenly, my leg gave in, and I slipped. I gasped at the sudden pain in my pulsing leg. I barely caught the branch below me with my hand, squeezing my nails into it and empowering my arm with more chakra just to hold on.

"Sakura-chan!" I heard Naruto call me frantically. Sasuke was already beside me, having been pulled down with me, and stood still on the branch, watching me look up to him. Wait. What was with that smug expression of his? I growled as I pulled myself up, everyone watching, but no one helping. Finally, as I was kneeling on the branch, Naruto jumped down to my side and helped me up.

"What's wrong, Sakura-chan?" He asked me, his voice filled with overflowing concern.

I clenched my teeth and grabbed my leg, squeezing it. The pain neither diminished nor worsened, and I activated the chakra in my hands to heal it. I cursed again. As soon as I'd touched my leg, which looked fine but for some reason, hurt like hell, the chakra in my hand had flared out and disappeared, retreating back into my palm.

"Are you malfunctioning, Ugly?" Sai asked me. Sasuke only stared at him.

I furrowed my eyebrows and clenched my fists. "Not the right word, Sai," I hissed. The bones in my leg felt like they were twisting and bending and breaking. I sucked in a breath. My leg was growing numb, but the pain only ceased slightly.

"Sakura-chan, what's wrong?" Naruto asked again as I stood.

"My leg. I think its poison, but it's not like anything I've ever felt before." I groaned. "Suna is near. They have a lot of herbs I can use as antidotes if I'm able to extract some of the poison, or whatever going wrong. We need to hurry."

Naruto was about to pick me up when I stopped him. "Sakura-chan…"

I shook my head. "I'll be fine as long as I don't use this leg." I said, standing up on foot. "Let's go, we've got no time to lose." I jumped forward, landing crookedly on another branch. Naruto hesitated but followed me.

-

-

"I'm fine, really, it's nothing." I said quietly, probably an hour later, jumping onto the next branch and falling forward, catching the branch in front of me with my arms as if I'd intended to go down. I swung a bit before launching myself on the next branch and landing flat on my stomach, my arms barely bracing my fall as they grabbed it. I groaned and pulled myself up, my leg hanging like a dead limb. Suddenly, someone grabbed my arm and steadied me.

"Stop being stubborn… Annoying." The boy, who I could already identify by what he'd said, scolded me.

I winced as he picked me up (bridal style?!) into his arms.

"Does that hurt?" He asked me.

I felt my face flush as he held me against him, his eyebrow rising questionably at my reaction. I shook my head, snapping out of the daze. "H-Hell yes, it does!" I snapped, and then added sweetly, "But I can handle it." I didn't want him to let go.

He smirked and looked up. Naruto and Sai were staring at us. "Sakura-chan…" Naruto began again.

I smiled to reassure him. "Because of the barrier we have to stay close, anyway. Its fine, Naruto-kun." I told him.

He glared at Sasuke pointedly before dashing off, followed by a shrugging Sai. Sasuke followed closely, not even glancing at me as we traveled. Mere minutes had passed before we were in the open desert. The cloudy skies were uncharacteristic for the dry desert, but we'd come to witness the rain, by chance. Suddenly, I could see the hidden village before us. How fast had we been going? We'd arrived within two days. We landed on the ground and began walking.

"Finally…" I sighed, the pain in my leg beginning to seriously trouble me.

Sasuke looked at me. "Finally, what?" He asked.

I frowned at him, turning my head again to look at the desert. It was empty. Where'd the village go? Was I hallucinating?

"You're seeing things?" He teased me, as if reading my mind.

I turned to him again. "I swear I saw the village there…" I mumbled.

He looked at me funny. "It takes at least three days to get to the village hidden in the Sand. You of all people should know." He muttered to me.

I gaped at him. "I know that!" I told him angrily. I didn't have to look at him to know he was smirking again. I huffed and turned my head. When had we stopped? "Why are we stopping?" I asked.

Naruto frowned slightly. "We just discussed whether or not we should stop half an hour ago, Sakura-chan. Weren't you listening?" He asked.

"No…" I mumbled quietly, Sasuke putting me down.

"You're the one who agreed that we should. Are you losing your mind?" Sai stepped in, smiling now.

I growled. "Shut the hell up, I am _not_ losing my mind." I told him. "And would you stop it with the damn nicknames?!" I nearly shouted.

Everyone turned to stare at me.

"Are you okay? You need to calm down…" Naruto said hesitantly.

"I'm goddamn okay, alright?!" I yelled, muttering angrily under by breath as I ripped off my bag and unrolled my sleeping bag. I put only slightest pressure in my other leg and screamed out in pain, completely falling over into the sleeping bag. What was wrong with me? I had gone through pain worse than this. A sword through the core was much less bearable than this, so why was I falling over and unable even stand?

Everyone was at my side within seconds. Naruto fell to his knees beside me and straddled me in his arms like I'd done him so many times before. "Sakura-chan!" He said loudly, "Sakura-chan, are you okay? Open your eyes!" He was yelling at me.

I opened my eyes only enough to look at my leg. I put my hand over it, chakra going out of control in my palm as I struggled to heal it. On the outside, it looked completely fine, though the inside felt like fire was burning through every vein and vessel within me. If it was poison, then it would have spread, but this was just hell bent on destroying my leg. My eyes widened, my chakra finally pushing through the invisible barrier and entering my leg.

What was this? My bones were all shattered? How? Blood was flooding my leg, muscles shred. And then suddenly it all changed. Now my bones were all jelatinous, floating around my leg and – was this some twisted genjutsu? Whatever I was seeing was a trick. How could that even be possible?

I pushed my questions aside as I was suddenly dragged into unconsciousness.

-

-

I woke up cursing more than I ever had in my whole life, the first thing I realized was that I was soaking wet. "Too bad the rain didn't clean your tongue." Sasuke muttered.

I was too drowsy to glare at him, instead looking at myself. I was drenched from head to toe. My clothes stuck to me uncomfortably as I sat up, turning to Sasuke. I couldn't feel my leg. "What'd you do?" I asked.

"Knocked you out and gave you painkillers." He answered. "It kind of gives out our hiding spot when you're screeching your goddamn lungs out for everyone to hear."

I tried hiding my blush by looking around. We were in some sort of cave. "Um…" I started.

"We found it my chance near the trees." He answered.

"Weren't we in the desert?" I asked.

"We were, until it started pouring on us." He muttered.

It was then that I realized that he too was soaked, his clothes sticking to him as if for dear life. I couldn't help but stare as the fabric outlined his chest perfectly, each crease only emphasising the fine shapes on his front. My eyes traveled from his expertly chiselled form to his neck, his jaw, and his _eyes_. He was staring at me as well, traveling just as I had. I blinked. Wait. He was checking _me_ out? I nearly punched his lights out, only the sight of his angelic face stopped me. I wouldn't dare ruin it. And then another sight caught me. His lips. They curved up at the side in a smirk, just taunting me. I unconsciously leaned forward, eyes wide and observant, watching as his mouth opened so easily. He hadn't moved. His smirk vanished. My eyelids hung half-way over my eyes.

Suddenly, he leaned backwards. "It's rude to stare." He said, startling me so violently that I jerked myself backwards and gasped.

I quickly regained my composure, my face as red as a tomato. We shared at least five minutes of silence before I was able to look in his general direction again. "W-Where are Naruto and Sai?" I asked.

He paused. "They went to get more fire wood." He said. His eyes locked on anything but _me_.

I looked at the fire, the dim light barely emitting any heat. I shivered. "Can't you just use one of your fire jutsu or something?" I asked him.

He sighed. "Don't forget that I'm on six month probation. It's forbidden to use any jutsu whatsoever or we get shacked up." He muttered bitterly.

I nodded my head solemnly. I whipped around at the sound of footsteps, still drowsy from the pain killers I'd just had shoved down my throat.

Naruto frowned. "You guys still have your clothes on?" He asked.

I nearly screeched. "What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?!" I asked him loudly.

He glanced at Sasuke before doubling over in laughter. Sai shook his head and walked over to me, dumping the load of logs in his arms in front of him. "You'll get sick if you keep your wet clothes on." He reminded me, hardly heard with Naruto's roaring laughter in the background.

I nodded my head, and then frowned. "That's all you guys got?" I asked, pointing to the firewood.

Sai stared at Naruto with a somewhat accusatory look. "He wanted to check on you." He said.

I was touched yet annoyed by this. "Naruto-kun…" I growled.

He had just finished laughing and walked over to grab Sai's arm, "Alright, alright, we're going!" He said through gasps and fits of laughter.


End file.
